The Space Between Stars
by disneynina
Summary: "How beautiful is it that someone could make your heart beat so fast, when you don't want it to beat at all." They say that the distance between two stars are so vast, it could fit several planets from point A to B. For Lucas and Maya, what they feel for each other is too big enough to fit in that expanse of space. (Lucaya oneshot in 1st chapter; drabble stories for Lucaya onward)
1. The Space Between Stars

**A/N: Why hello there! I'm glad you've decided to click on this story, but first things first, this is a monster one-shot. And when I mean monster, I mean this story is hella long. 24 pages long on my Word document haha. So you're gonna have to buckle your seatbelts cuz it's going to be a long ride ;)**

 *****FYI for all my loyal readers who follow "Girl Meets Forgiveness and Onward" and "The Child of Love" I'm sorry I haven't been updating those two lately, clearly I was too busy writing this huge Lucaya one-shot. No worries I haven't forgotten any one of you or abandoned the story, it's just that College has been dictating my life right now so I had to straighten my priorities first before I could write again. But I worked so hard on this one, so here's a treat for being so patient, love you all! *kisses***

* * *

 _"That's what it feels like when you touch me. Like millions of tiny universes being born and then dying in the space between your finger and my skin. Sometimes I forget."_

 _– Iain Thomas_

* * *

"Mark your calendars my fellow scientists because in a couple of weeks you're about to turn in your final project for this class."

The whole class sucked in a deep breath and let out a collective groan, whilst Maya's head immediately started bobbing in sleepiness. A wave of exhaustion rolled over Maya's small body as she tried to stifle a wide yawn while she glanced at Lucas sitting beside her, shaking his head in amusement. He quipped a smile at her and his green eyes were especially bright when he gave his blonde partner a bemused look.

"Do I need to prop my hand up in case your head's about to hit the desk?"

Maya snorted, "Yeah you wish."

Before Maya could fully retort back with a snarky comment of her own, Mr. Norton continued on with his explanation.

"Oh don't groan at me. It's your last assignment for this class and then you'll be journeying onto high school science! Ah what a time to be alive. You'll be able to dive into chemistry, biology, anatomy…" Maya stuck her tongue out and twisted her face like she just sucked on a slice of lemon. Besides Farkle and Riley, Maya wasn't the only one who groaned again, disagreeing with his sentiment.

Mr. Norton just smiled at his students, not feeling the slightest bit discouraged by their lackluster for science. He knew what he was about to say next was going to reignite the flame of curiosity and love for science inside of them. "But alas! I digress…" Mr. Norton licked his thumb quickly and fingered the large stack of paper in his hands and started to pass them out around the class. Maya rubbed her eyes when she looked down at the permission form in her hands.

"A fieldtrip?!" Farkle shouted enthusiastically. His eyes were bulging out of his sockets comically like he was a cartoon on Bugs Bunny, literally jumping and bouncing about on his stool. Riley placed a hand on Farkle's shoulder and squeezed, her way of telling him she was happy that he was excited. Farkle looked at her and calmed down a little bit when her chocolate eyes emitted warmth. The combination of Riley's smiling face and the discovery that his class was going on a science field trip made him one happy genius.

"Nice hypothesis Farkle! As Mr. Minkus concluded, our class is going to the Planetarium Observatory in about two weeks. You'll all be doing a mini scavenger hunt!" At the mention of scavenger hunts and a trip to the inner city, the whole class broke out in eager chatter. Maya just stared blankly ahead of her, placing a cool mask on her delicate features that wouldn't betray the slight twinge of excitement racing through her veins. She definitely wasn't as giddy as the rest of her classmates but she couldn't deny that going some elsewhere else with Lucas made her heart pump a little erratically in her chest. As if the golden boy had read her mind perfectly, he turned around and flashed his teeth at her.

"You'll all be partnering up with the same person you were with for the sludge project," he added. "So now that you've all got a buddy system going, this project shouldn't be too hard. I hope I'm not overcompensating too much here. Bring the slips home and let your guardians sign it and turn it to me by tomorrow." Maya bit her lip to keep her from chuckling when Lucas tipped his imaginary hat at her and winked.

"So I guess this means we'll be together then… _partner,_ " he emphasized the last word and dragged it out with a heavier Texas twang. Maya tried not to shiver when she saw his lips forming words she loved coming out of his mouth.

"Unfortunately," she said dryly. She was definitely struggling with the ropes of acting cool while her insides burned from an unknown source of want. He smirked at her, not buying any of her B level acting, he could see right past the annoyed look she shot at him. He was excited to spend more time with her, and in his heart, he knew she was too.

* * *

"Oh gross! This packet's ten pages long!" Maya's eyes perused the thick stapled printer copy paper, groaning when she realized it was double-sided. Lucas plucked the paper out of her dainty hands before she was about to shred the demonic thing herself.

He shook his head wryly, "It's not that bad. Some of these are diagrams, matching, and multiple choice."

"So the rest are all short answers? Just great," she pouted petulantly. The subway halted suddenly in a toe-curling screech and for a moment Maya could've sworn she had a tight grip on the handle next to her, until Lucas' hands shot out to steady her stumble. His grip on her waist tightened considerably when she shot him an exasperated look, silently telling him to let go. The place where he rested his hands on the curve of her hip burned like an iron. Slowly, one by one, he took his fingers off her waist until he knew she had her balance. She stared at him a little scatterbrained, not realizing that everyone was shuffling out of the crowded space hurriedly. At least Lucas had somewhat of a clear mind and grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto the platform before the doors slid shut.

Maya ripped her hand out of his grasp when Riley shot her a funny look. The bambi eyes just twinkled mysteriously at her best friend and for once in Maya's life, she wasn't able to read her expression. Her face burned when Riley shot the pair odd looks and sped up ahead towards the front of their group. Maya filtered through her classmates and made it to the front of the group, sticking close to the back of Mr. Norton's sweater vest. He turned around and clapped his hands together to get his students' attention.

Their earnest eyes all shot up instantly, "Alright we're about a block away from the Rose Center for Earth & Space, now listen carefully. You all should've picked up the packets from class this morning and scanned the instructions at your disposal. We've only got so much time to cover such a broad subject, so use your time wisely. You all should be able to attend one of the two space showings at the Hayden Planetarium. First one's at 11:30 am and the second one is at 1:00 pm." He fixed his spectacle glasses from sliding off his nose and checked the time on his watch. "It's currently 10:00 am, lunch break is to be scheduled and negotiated amongst yourselves. The packet should be finished and due strictly at 2:00 pm outside the front steps of the museum, now go explore, and open your minds to the unraveling galaxies before you. Enjoy space!" With a salute to his class, he crossed the road epically. They were all enticed by Mr. Norton's speech about the unknown world above them and made their way to the space center. Her feet had a mind of her own, and she forgot where she was. Throwing out all of the New Yorker instinct inside of her, she crossed the road without double-checking and was almost hit by incoming traffic.

Maya felt the wind being knocked out of her as an arm snaked around the front of her body and pulled her back in. "Maya! Are you crazy? You need to look where you're going!" Lucas shouted frantically in her ear. Her head was slightly dizzy from the whiplash and the sudden force of his action, shocking her into a state of stupidity. _Holy shit, I almost died!_ Her mind was still formidable as putty, still feeling a little gob smacked at the thought of being ran over head first from a ruthless taxi. "What were you thinking? You can't just cross the street without looking." Lucas' words were light-hearted, but the strain on his voice betrayed any act of nonchalance. His eyes roamed over her in a frenzy, making sure she was physically well. He rubbed his hands on her arms creating friction between his calloused palms and the sheer material of her gossamer blouse.

"I don't know," Maya muttered to herself as she unconsciously clutched onto the arms that held her in a vice grip, taking in some comfort by his presence. She looked at the top of his shirt, avoiding his heated gaze.

"That scared the shit out of me Maya. Don't do that again," he warned her. Even though his words were stern, it didn't hold any bite in them. The rapid falls of their chests slowed down considerably when Riley stepped in. Riley wrapped an arm around her friend and told Lucas she could take it from here, Maya squeezed Riley's hand but didn't feel the same rush of safety she felt when Lucas held her earlier.

When they've all gathered in front of the main entrance of the planetarium, Lucas' mouth was agape as well as everyone else's as they stared at the humongous building. Maya was only paying attention to his reaction, feeling a small bubble of elation inflate when she saw his face light up. The urban building was constructed completely out of glass, which beyond the panes, held a huge blue ball. Riley had to hold Farkle by the shirt to keep him from running in and screaming, "I love space!"

"Do you guys want to stick together or is it better for us to separate?" Maya asked, looking between Farkle, Riley, Lucas, Zay, and Sarah.

"Farkle? What do you think?" Maya asked the eager boy scientist.

He shook his head wildly, making long strands of brown hair swish, "I don't care. As long as we do EVERYTHING." Maya had to step back when she saw the mad sparkle in his hazel eyes. Farkle looked at Riley from the corner of his eyes and cooled down a bit "I mean I'm fine with whatever Riley wants to do."

They all raised a surprised eyebrow at his statement, "Since when did you let her be the commander in chief for a project, especially for your favorite subject?" Zay asked skeptically.

"Since Sludge. When we saw past our differences through the beaker," Riley smiled at him softly. "Literally and figuratively," he added.

"I think it's better that we split off for this one," Riley offered. "Farkle and I will head towards the blueprints and design. Zay, you and Sarah can take another exhibit," Riley pointed towards Maya and Lucas, "and the two of you can go off somewhere else."

Maya was confused at her suggestion; this didn't sound like the Riley she knew. "Riles, are you sure? I thought you always loved our group working together."

Riley shrugged, wiping off the coy smile that was about to break out across her face. "Can we at least see the later showing inside the big ball together?" Maya asked hopefully, feeling a little apprehensive to spend the entirety of the trip alone with Lucas.

"Maya, it's not a big ball, it's an encompassing 360 degree auditorium that has surround sound and high definition projection resolution," Farkle corrected her as if he was a machine. Maya shot him a miffed glare, feeling a surge of irritation pass through whenever someone had corrected her.

"Yeah now that I think about it, we're leaving now," she grit out. "Come on Huckleberry." She rolled her eyes when he didn't respond and stood there rigidly, she tugged on his arm and marched inside.

"Maya you can let go now," Lucas smirked, reminding her that she was the one initiating the touch. Maya dropped her hand like his skin was on fire, taking in the bustling pristine lobby of the museum. It was like she stepped into the future. The floor was a shiny coat of white, reflecting off a prism of colors from the sunlight streaming through the windows. Lifelike models of planets and a rocket ship were suspended in the air, hovering above their heads. The ball was massive and there were spiraling staircases everywhere. She had to admit; it was pretty impressive.

Lucas was also soaking in his surroundings like a sponge, smiling at parents trying to keep their hyperactive kids from running out of their grasps. His jaw slackened when the beaming rays on top of Maya's head blinded him. Something in his heart clenched painfully as he stood next to the girl he was itching to touch. The translucent effect wrapped around her like a blanket, casting an angelic glow that made her look heavenly. Maya felt unnerved when he was silently studying her, feeling a little uncomfortable that he hadn't shifted his gaze somewhere else.

"You can stop staring at me now," she snapped. All of his unwavering attention wasn't unwanted but it made her stomach twist into an intangible knot. She lifted up her chin and brushed past him, fed up with his strange behavior today. Lucas just stared longingly at her backside, feeling exasperated himself by how poorly he was keeping a handle on his emotions lately. He couldn't help that his fondness for her after all this time has morphed into an all-consuming passion to protect her, hold her, and even kiss her.

* * *

After a while the two of them loosened up in each other's company, awkward tension that was permeating the air earlier had dissipated. They went through several galleries and exhibitions, filling out more than three-fourths of the packet before they both decided that it was time to take a lunch break. Maya was more than happy when Lucas presented her a sealed packet of Freeze-dried ice cream that came out of his own pocket. Maya didn't say anything about it, knowing he wanted to do this for her; she tore open the seal and stuffed a piece in her mouth. It dissolved in her mouth slowly like cotton candy and she smiled when she tasted her favorite flavor; chocolate.

"What does it taste like?" Lucas leaned in, taking a closer look at the block of food.

"Have you ever tried one before?"

"Nah, we don't really have these things back in Texas."

Maya smirked, "figures." She kept chewing and pondered deeply about how to describe it to him. "The texture's like the inside of a whopper candy. It melts in the middle of your tongue but doesn't completely dissolve away like cotton candy until it gets stuck to the roof of your mouth. It does taste a little bit of ice cream but mostly chocolate."

Maya wiped off her chin with her fingers and licked them to get the stickiness out. Lucas watched mesmerizingly as her tongue darted out of her pink bow lips and swiped slow circles on the bottom. An image suddenly flashed through his mind of running his tongue ever so slowly and tortuously over the smooth of her lips, sucking the delicious chocolate residue off so he could taste it for himself. Lucas suddenly clenched the table in front of him and tried to maintain an air of indifference, while she had no idea that he was suffering from her innocent gesture.

Maya frowned when she saw his stony expression, his gaze was focused on her fingers and she remembered that he never had a taste before. She thought maybe he was upset because she didn't offer him any, so she broke off a piece and held it out in front of his mouth. "Here try it yourself." Maya pressed on when he was silent again, "come on Lucas, I don't bite," she taunted.

Maya almost gasped in surprise when he suddenly closed his mouth over the tips of her fingers to take the piece of offered ice cream off her hand. She sucked in a deep breath of air and almost forgot to breathe out when she momentarily felt the heat of his tongue make contact with her skin. It was only for a brief second and his perfect lips barely touched her fingers, but she could only stare at him in shock, her bow lips forming a small 'o'.

Maya met his eyes and saw something dark cross over his golden features. She was wound up by his expression, feeling the jitterbugs crawling all over her spine, but somehow the dark look didn't scare her. It made her feel aroused. In an instant, the look was gone, replaced with the same serene expression she was used to. To say she wasn't disappointed would be a lie, the knot in her stomach slowly loosened when he spoke again.

"It's almost one o'clock, we should go," he said a little gruffly. Maya wiped her damp hands on the napkin and picked up the tray to dump it, but Lucas, the hospitable gentleman, took it from her hands, shooting her an indecipherable look. They stiffly made their way to the auditorium and looked for Riley and their friends, knowing that their quirky friend most likely saved them all a seat. Maya plopped down tiredly next to the brunette while Lucas followed suit and took the seat to her right. Of course by coincidence, that was the only seat available in the section, proving once again that the fates were out to make Maya thoroughly uncomfortable.

The space between each seat was literally nonexistent besides the narrow cup holder that did nothing to help the cramped space to Maya's chagrin. Lucas' form was a little too big for the plush velvet seats, inevitably making him feel squished. He placed his left arm along the cup holder, causing them to rub shoulders briefly before Maya pulled away to lean more on her left.

"How was the exhibit?"

"It was…" Riley snuck a peek at the boy genius to her left, apparently at a loss of words, "wonderful."

"So was it everything Einstein had dreamt of?" Maya nodded her head towards Farkle.

Riley just laughed, "apparently so. He had a blast. I had to make sure he wouldn't climb into one of the rockets," she added. "So how was exploring with Lucas?"

Maya shrugged, "not bad, we're more than seventy-five percent done with the packet."

"Wow really? That's pretty good. Seems like you and Lucas make a good team." At this, Maya studied Riley's open expression, doing a double take at the ease of how those words seamlessly flowed out of her mouth. Riley's face didn't betray a thing, it remained blasé and relaxed; the very opposite of the tense, panic-stricken Riley at New Year's.

"Yeah so do you and the Farks," Maya's eyes opened a little wider at the tiny blush splayed on Riley's cheeks. Maya was so confused right now; she didn't know why her friend's neck bloomed red in embarrassment by her comment. Choosing to ignore it, she tucked her head on the crook of Riley's neck and her friend instinctively patted her on the back.

"Are you okay Peaches?" Riley's slow tufts of breath blew a gentle breeze on the curls of her hair. Maya nodded wordlessly, trying her hardest to look away from Lucas. Maya wasn't okay, not even the slightest bit. Her heart lurched painfully as the guilt and shame crawled up her neck, making it a little hard for her to breathe. Here she was, leaning on her best friend's shoulder, while she pined for Riley's first love. She was a shitty friend and she knew it too. Maya fantasized about Lucas' strong arms, soft lips, and tantalizing smirk for every second of her miserable life. It filled her with a perverse desire to imagine his lips bruising hers in a searing kiss.

Ever since Farkle literally shouted from the rooftops of Riley's undying love for Lucas, things were never the same. Maya built her walls back up and created a space between them that was wider than any mountain. She emotionally drifted away from Lucas so she could try to forget that she liked him. She tried to remain subtle about it while still keeping her friendship with him intact. However, there was less playful arguing, witty banters, and name calling at his expense. She took a step forward with Lucas back in Texas, only for her to take three steps back. It made her chest ache and hurt in all the wrong places because she's never really had Riley's blessing in the first place. Riley's lie ripped open her heart, leaving her soul haggard, dimming the fire in her eyes. Try as she might, but Maya could never resent her friend. After all, it was her fault that she drove Riley to keep a secret to herself.

The truth ate at her brain, the scene on the rooftop unraveled in her dreams every night like it was stuck on loop. The truth was supposed to quench her feelings for Lucas but to her dismay it made him look all the more desirable like the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. She fought every advance he made with her, but the more she pushed the more he pulled.

The lights immediately flickered off and the bulky doors creaked its way shut, causing the whole planetarium to go completely dark. "How much do we know about space and the world around us?" A booming voice echoed mysteriously. Maya didn't need to look at Farkle to see that he was giddy like a child opening his presents on Christmas.

Suddenly the darkness was gone and a flurry of stars flashed around them, filling every single inch of the dome. Everyone was shell shocked by the moving image before them, even Maya gasped in awe. Specks of white moved superfluously as Maya sunk further into her chair to tilt her head more upwards. "There are about a trillion stars in our universe, constantly moving further apart from each other, causing galaxies to shift away one another. Their movement provides evidence that all stars, galaxies, and constellations all come from a single place: the beginning of time and space. What we call the Big Bang Theory." Maya's head was getting dizzy from the whizzing images and mind-blowing facts about the universe that had her second-guessing her existence.

Lucas was just as mesmerized by the show but while the voice spoke out against the lull of the auditorium, he was looking at Maya. Her face and form was already melded into his brain by all those times he stared at her, but the thirst to drink in her features only increased tenfold with every passing day. Yes, the images being projected were breathtaking but it wasn't as beautiful or magnificent as the creature sitting beside him. Lucas was grateful that the dark engulfed his face, so that way nobody could see the agony and admiration written all over his face.

More images, movements, and time flashed before his eyes before he heard something that caught him off guard. "The universe has been constantly expanding since its birth about 13.8 billion years ago. In retrospect, us humans couldn't even begin to comprehend the amount of time that flies through space. If we put things in perspective according to the Cosmic Calendar, Earth was formed 4.5 years ago, the dinosaurs went extinct 3 weeks ago and the first Homo sapiens emerged 30 minutes ago. While all of recorded human history happened in the span of the last 21 seconds."

Something struck deep in Lucas' gut.

Lucas gulped when she subconsciously leaned into him, the smell of honey and lavender invaded his nostrils, reminding him of an open grassy field back in Austin. Her long curls splayed out on the curve of her back and the tips of the strands tickled his forearm pleasantly, leaving a trail of goose bumps in her wake. He felt like a creepy creep creep when he saw himself grabbing a fistful of her hair while he kissed her senseless. His eyes darted to her face when flashes of orange and yellow hues were dancing across her face like a flicker of fames, marking her as an unworldly spirit.

Lucas knew what he wanted now.

He wanted Maya.

And he wanted to be hers. He wanted everything from her. He was ready to finally yield to his desires and succumb to her will. He didn't care if he had to beg, coax, or kiss his way to her heart. The fire was scourging his insides and he knew it wouldn't be tamed unless he could claim her as his own as he was hers.

Lucas was exasperated with himself, he regretted wasting months after Texas in deciding which girl he should pursue, when she was the only one he wanted to be with. They connected with each other on a deeper level and she fit him like a glove, Lucas wasn't ever crazy about a girl before until she waltzed into his life. The longer it took for him to decide between the doe eyed brunette and the fiery blonde, he realized too late that she was slowly slipping out of his fingers. It was a slight and subtle shift like when the wind changes direction, but when it came to Maya, Lucas could pick up on anything. Lucas didn't know it was possible for him to miss someone so much when that someone was sitting right next to him.

" _In relation to the size of other stars, the sun is small and very ordinary. In fact, the space between two stars is bigger than the whole expanse of the Solar System. The Milky Way is only a small galaxy amongst a hundred million of other galaxies. Making the sun just a speck of dust in the galaxy."_

His palms became sweaty as those words were reverberated around the room, branding his mind like a welding iron, leaving a scorching mark that he couldn't shake away. It was if his thoughts were being projected around the room as the voice urged him to act on his desires, reminding him that their existence was almost pathetic compared to the vast size of the universe. It only served as a reminder that his life was puny and insignificant in the grand scheme of things; it didn't scare Lucas that he'd only be alive for less than a second on the universe's timeline. For some strange reason this gave him a new perspective on life. The dangerous sense of hope was stirring in the bottom of his gut, swallowing his anxiety whole.

Fuck it.

He was going to tell her how he feels.

And he wasn't going to waste anymore time.

Lucas slowly trailed his fingers on her upper arm and tentatively reached out for her dainty hand to grasp it. Maya gulped when her hand was immediately warmed by his touch, chasing away the slight chill in the room. She sat there frozen, afraid of turning around and breaking the spell. Her eyes slickly caught his blank face, irked by his unfathomable expression. She didn't know why he was acting so calm but for some reason, his tranquil aura made her all the more nervous. For a while they just stayed the way they were until the presentation was over, and the lights flickered back on.

Maya snatched her hand out of his when Riley turned in her seat to look at her with a dazed expression on his face. "That was one of the best things I've ever seen in my life. I mean just think about how much we've yet to explore about life outside the world we live in. It's crazy, yet amazing." She raised her eyebrows when Maya was as still as a gargoyle, "what did you think of it?"

Maya opened her mouth before Zay cut in, "Are you speechless Hart?" Maya was in another world, far away from reality, immersed in her chaotic thoughts. She didn't even have anything smart to retort back to the amused dark skinned cowboy.

Almost everyone else in the planetarium had finished filing out, leaving just the five of them in a quiet auditorium. "THAT WAS SO EPIC!" Farkle flung his arms in the air, "I need more! That wasn't enough for me. Can we revisit some of the exhibits?"

Zay chuckled and shook his head, "Sure why not? We still got time to kill. Riley?" he called to the brunette to make a decision.

"I'm fine with whatever. How about you?" Riley looked between the quiet pair.

Silence.

"Hello, Earth to Lucas and Maya!" Riley nearly bellowed in Maya's face.

"Sure we'll go."

"We can't."

They said simultaneously.

"What was that Huckleberry?"

"You and I shouldn't go."

"I heard you the first time, I'm asking you why hot shot," she huffed exasperatedly.

Lucas ignored her snippy tone, not even cracking a smile at the nickname. "Because we still haven't finished the packet. We should do that first if we want to pass this class."

"And where are we supposed to do that Mr. Boring?" Maya crossed her arms and glared at him, while Riley, Farkle, and Zay shifted on their feet, uncomfortable by the amount of unspoken words hanging around them.

Lucas just gestured around them, "well for one, we can do it here where it's quiet." Maya's cheeks flushed in slight embarrassment by the innocent double meaning behind his words. Maya had to remind herself that he was talking about the packet.

"It's ok Maya, when you're done just text us if you wanna join later," Riley said as she turned her back against them, shuffling out of the row awkwardly. Maya's stomach suddenly plunged down at the thought of being alone with Lucas. She couldn't place where this weird sense of dread was coming from but she knew something was going to happen if she stayed behind. All of a sudden Maya wanted to shove everyone to the ground while she hightailed out of the room without so much as a second glance back. Maya's eyes widened in panic as she saw her best friend's form become smaller with every step she took.

Maya dashed towards her and grabbed her arm in a vice grip. "Riley you can't leave me alone with him," Maya whispered furiously so the others couldn't hear.

"You'll be fine Peaches. What are you worried about?" Riley's innocent question made her feel like she was overreacting, but she knew _exactly_ what she was worried about.

"Lions coming in here and destroying everything in its path."

Riley just laughed at her fearful expression, "There aren't any lions in Manhattan, silly. If that were to happen I'm pretty sure Lucas would protect you."

"Can you stop saying his name? Not everything's about him," Maya snapped. Riley didn't even blink from her viscous tone, knowing full well that her friend lashed out when she was feeling vulnerable. The fury only slightly masked the fear swimming in the pools of her baby blues, but Riley caught on by the tense body language Lucas and Maya were sporting throughout the entire day.

Riley gathered both of her hands into hers and looked straight into her stormy eyes, "Listen to me carefully Maya. Because I'll only say this once," Riley advised solemnly, all traces of playfulness gone in a blink of an eye.

Maya was sucked into the vortex of her doe eyes and noticed that they weren't so innocent anymore. She was digging her nails into her palm, dying to know what she was going to say. "Only stars are meant to move away from each other for the rest of their existence, not people."

Maya didn't fully register that her friend was gone until the door creaked shut. "What the fuck?!" Maya muttered to herself. _What the hell did Riley mean?_ A science fact wasn't going to help her out of this pathetic situation.

"Shortstack," Lucas called out. "You're not going to make me do this by myself are you?"

Maya trudged back to their spot and slumped down, groaning miserably. Lucas just pulled out his pencil and started jotting his answers down. Maya kept her distance but helped out when she could, observing the flex of his arms whenever he clutched the pencil a little tighter. Her eyes moved from his impressive arms to the thick golden eyelashes that complimented his green eyes. Maya squirmed in her seat, _damn him for having such beautiful eyelashes._ It was like everything he did was attractive; she hated being one of those girls who would go weak-kneed over a boy. Fucking hormones. It's bullshit.

Soon Maya's eyes drooped shut by the comfortable plush seats and the sound of Lucas' rhythmic scribbling. Lucas went over the entire assignment, double-checking that they hadn't missed a page or a question, when he noticed it was a little too quiet in here. His heart almost melted when Maya's head was bobbing from her upright position, threatening to fall at an ungraceful angle that would put a crick in her neck. Lucas lifted her head and traced his thumb over the edge of her pink bow lips, lamenting how beautiful and innocent she looked in his hands. Maya mumbled something incoherent and swatted at her face, but stirred when her hand met Lucas' calloused one. She furrowed her eyebrows at their compromising situation, what the hell happened? Did she faint? Did she blackout? Why was Lucas clutching her face?

"Hi," he muttered softly while his eyes darted to her lips.

"Hey," she blinked back at him, making sure this wasn't some cruel dream.

"What happened?" she asked dumbly.

"Well I just finished the packet and found you dosing off."

"Oh you finished it? Great, then that means we're done here!" Maya darted off her seat and tried not to trip as she blindly eyed the door. Lucas frowned when she ripped his hand off her face and tried to make a rapid exit. Lucas caught on to what she was trying to do as soon as he saw the glint of determination.

"Maya," his voice stopped her. "Why are you running away from me?"

"I'm not running away from you."

"I can tell when you're lying," she mentally kicked herself for the lame excuse, _shit_ , she was really losing her touch. Lucas took in a deep breath, "I know that you've been distancing yourself from me lately and I want to know why."

Maya snorted, "Obviously you aren't very observant Huckleberry. We've been hanging out for the entirety of this trip."

He just rolled his eyes, "you know what I mean."

Maya drew in a breath and closed her eyes, her back facing him. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Really? Playing the ignorant card?"

"Lucas, don't," she warned.

"You've been holding back on the teasing and nicknames for a while now."

"If this is some weird way of telling me to pick on you more, you need to find a new hobby, _Ranger Rick_."

He rolled his eyes, "See you're doing it again." She just stood there confused by what he was saying. "You're shutting me out."

"Has it ever occurred to you that you can't exactly shut someone out if you've never let them in?" his questioning was beginning to grate on her nerves.

"Maya, look at me." She didn't know what possessed her to obey his command, but something in his tone was alluring.

Once she turned around, she just stared at his feet wordlessly. Lucas sighed and tentatively walked towards her, like he was approaching a scared kitten. He wanted to envelop her in his arms and hold her for an infinite amount of time but instead he did the most tangible thing at the moment and took ahold of her shoulders, "I know you think I'm thickheaded and oblivious at times, but I notice everything when it comes to you. Always."

Maya took a big step back, knowing that this was the exact moment she was dreading. "How could you possibly know that?" she whispered hoarsely, rubbing her shoulder like he had just burnt her.

"The space between us. It's killing me that you're so close to me but I can't get to you."

Maya shook her head adamantly, "I'm right here Lucas. Nothing's changed. We still talk and we're still friends, I'm sorry if we've been talking less lately."

Lucas ran his fingers through his hair frustratingly, "We're not friends, Maya." She started to fume silently in her spot with her fists shaking in barely concealed anger.

"Then what am I?" insecure thoughts were running around her head, admonishing her for being a naïve and sentimental fool. After all this time, she should've known not to let her heart get in the way of her better judgment; her stomach did a flip-flop when a voice in the back of her head told her that she wasn't good enough for him.

"You're the universe and everything in it." Maya's fury came crashing down at the moment she heard those words. Lucas rubbed his neck embarrassingly at the way he said it; it sounded desperate and rushed, unlike the way he had envisioned himself saying it in his head.

"Shit that's not what I meant," he mumbled. He immediately tried to rectify it, "do you remember what the voice said on those speakers earlier?" Maya nodded mutely. "We're just a tiny, meticulous speck in the galaxy; our existence barely counts for anything in the grand scheme of things. In the next thousand of years, we won't matter at all. Our existence would literally be tinier than a grain of sand on the universe's timeline. In just a blink of an eye, everything we know or find important to us won't be here any longer. The stars don't wait for us to age, it's constantly trying to grow and expand with space."

"Lucas what does this have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with us," he motioned between them, Lucas stepped forward again and Maya countered his move with a step back, a dance they've perfected over a long period of time. "This made me realize that I don't have much time to do what I want, to love who I want, or to be with who I want." His voice echoed off the walls of the planetarium as Maya stood there motionless. Lucas knew he had to say it but at the last moment fear gripped his heart tightly. The words almost died in his throat as he was about to lay his soul bare for her. He took one last look at her face as he plummeted in the black hole.

"It's you."

"It's been you this whole time." Maya's blue eyes widened and her bottom lip was quivering. He thought she was devastated at his confession, but just as he felt that he was becoming an expert at reading her, she did a complete one-eighty and surprised him once again.

"Have you lost your mind? Are you fucking mental?"

"Maya-"

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about," her nostrils flared in anger as her surprised expression morphed into one of extreme wrath. "You don't just go around throwing your feelings everywhere."

"What was I supposed to do? Keep these feelings bottled up?"

"If it would mean nothing would change between us, then yes," she blew out.

Lucas took a step closer to her when her blue eyes became a couple shades darker. "Why are you worried things would change between us?" he questioned.

Maya gulped at the heavy question, "We're just friends Lucas."

He took another step closer, "are you sure?" he asked smoothly.

Maya slightly shivered at the intensity of gaze, "yes." She lost all of her gumption as she was sucked into his orbit; spinning so fast until her body came crashing down from the high. The 'yes' sounded so unsure and it almost sounded like a question, like she was second-guessing her answer. Maya didn't know that he advancing on her with a predatory look in his eyes.

She was so nervous that she didn't realize she equated his steps forward with every step back. Their eyes were locked on each other like they were doing some type of dance, their bodies magnetically synchronizing on their own without any conscious thought. Suddenly, Maya's back bumped into something hard and she realized that she couldn't go on any further since something behind her blocked her chances of escaping him. Maya let out a harsh breath and let out a soft 'oomph' from the sharp pain that shot up her back. She turned around and realized the projector in the middle of the planetarium stopped her.

Maya didn't know what happened but only in a matter of seconds her eyes were registering the lights streaming across the room. She only realized until now that she had accidentally flipped a switch, suddenly causing the projector to spill stars all over the dome in the harsh darkness. She could hear Lucas breathe a couple of soft pants and feel the tendrils around her face sway from the air sifting between them because he was so close to her. She was trapped and they both knew it.

"Are you okay?" he murmured. She was almost weak at the knees but she kept herself together and nodded. He pressed gently on the small of her back when she unconsciously melted at the warm touch and leaned towards his chest. "You're trembling," he whispered. "I can hear your heart beating out of your chest."

"I'm not trembling," she whispered back.

"I know you, Maya. I can tell that you're nervous."

"It's because someone doesn't understand the meaning of personal space. You're standing too close to me and I don't like it," she huffed.

He almost chuckled at her stubbornness, "then why aren't you making an attempt to move away from me right now?" Maya's face flushed lightly but she didn't move. Everything was silent between them for a little bit until she spoke up.

"I can't," she uttered broken-heartily.

Lucas frowned and furrowed his eyebrows, "what do you mean?"

"I can't do this. I can't be this close with you and I can't be with you. I can't be whatever you want me to be because I can't." Her words were slurred and almost incomprehensible. She wasn't very eloquent with her words and she didn't know how to express how torn up she was about her decision to step back for her best friend.

"Why not?" he asked anxiously.

She shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself for what she was going to say next that would ultimately tear her heart to pieces. "Because I don't like you. I don't feel the same way you do."

The wheels were slowly churning in his head as he tried to process the words he had thought she would have never said. His heart dropped to his stomach and he started to feel the tightly held anger begin to seep through his body. "You're lying," he grit out.

Her big blue eyes that were almost swimming with tears snapped to his angry sea foam eyes. Her eyes grew sharp by the glittering determination on his face, "I'm not."

"Bullshit."

Her face grew hot under his scrutiny, "excuse me?" she sputtered.

Lucas chuckled darkly, all the traces of gentleness, sympathy, and humor was gone from his face. "After all this time I thought I knew you. I can't believe I thought you were fearless. Where's all the spunk and gung-ho? What happened to following your heart? One of the things I admired about you was your 'fuck the world, I don't live a shit attitude' what happened to that? You're scared for what you feel for me Maya, just admit it."

"I'm not going to admit to anything I don't feel. I've stopped liking you since New Years, I've gotten over you between now and then, why can't you accept that?"

"I'm not going to accept a lie."

"Goddamit Lucas! What's it going to take to convince you otherwise?" she shouted.

"People don't just get over their feelings for someone else that quickly. For fuck's sake, I've never gotten over you. Since the day on the subway, I've never stopped thinking about you." Maya wanted to slap him for what he had just said.

Maya jabbed a finger into his chest, "you're such an asshole. How could you lead Riley on like that? Just because you couldn't have me, doesn't mean you get to use another girl at your disposal to appease yourself. It was your fault you chose to go after Riley and not me. I can't believe I ever liked you! You're the same as every dick at our school. Why did you wait 'til now to tell me you liked me? You could've told me since day one that you liked me and not Riley. It's that easy." Maya wiped away a hot tear that was trailing on her cheek.

Lucas' gaze was still steely but it lost some of its coldness. "I messed up Maya and I knew it since then. I just didn't realize it would come to bite me in the ass one day. I didn't think you wanted me, I didn't know I had a chance with you. At that time I really did like Riley, I wasn't trying to use her. I'm not the villain you're painting me to be, Maya; I'm still the guy you like making fun of, the guy whose liked you for all this time but was too stupid to realize it until recently. I honestly didn't think I had a shot until you admitted your feelings for me at the campfire."

"The campfire changed everything for me."

Lucas gently took her chin and tilted her face upwards to look at him, "My feelings only grew for you since that night. And that moment before midnight," he breathed in deeply but kept her gaze locked with his, "I've never felt so alive in my life."

He brushed a finger across her cheek and grasped her face like he did at the campfire so many nights ago. "You can't convince me that you don't feel something for me. I'm not going to let you go until you stop lying to yourself. You said it could've been easy for me to go after you instead of Riley in the first place, but if it's really easy as you say it is, tell me you like me."

Maya's never felt so afraid in her whole entire life.

Not when her dad walked out on her years ago, not when her mom left her alone at nights in their sketchy apartment to go to work, not when her house had been burglarized, and not when her mom had lost her job and they were threatened to be kicked out on the streets.

Nothing could compare to the fear that washed over her that moment.

She was scared of what was going to happen next if she said anything. She knew she was going to cave in and all those walls she built around her for so long were slowly crumbling away brick by brick. The large space she had made between them was slowly merging in and suddenly she didn't know if she could run anymore. There was nowhere to go and her legs were giving out, but the scariest thing was that she _wanted_ to give up on running, all because his words had brought her to her knees. He held her feelings over her like a whip and she was afraid that he would hurt her if she decided to jump off the precipice.

She didn't know if her heart could handle it if he were to walk away or end things with her when he was bored with her. Everyone was going to leave her one-day and Lucas wasn't going to be any different.

"It's not the same thing, Lucas. If I say those things I can't ever take it back. I know what I feel about you but I also know what Riley feels for you." Maya looked at the ring on her finger and was reminded of her promise to never break Riley's heart.

"She's still in love with you and she's still convinced that you're her knight in shining armor. You're her first love and I don't have the right to take that away from her. If I ever said those three words, I don't think I could ever forgive myself. I love Riley and I'm always going to put her before anyone else, including myself. She's my sister and sisters don't do that to each other, I won't sacrifice our friendship for a guy. She's taken me into her family, loved me like her own, and I'm grateful for that. I couldn't possibly betray her, no matter how much I like you." Maya fiddled with her friendship ring, questioning whether she really was a good friend or not.

Lucas wanted to smother her with his lips when she basically admitted she liked him. He felt elated for a second until he realized that she was still holding herself back. The soft glow from the stars casted a lovely light on her heart shaped face that accentuated her features, making her more beautiful than he had ever seen her before. The woeful expression and dejected eyes didn't take anything away from her beauty because she still was brighter than any star in the room. Her speech made him fall even harder for her and he was reminded yet again why he fell for her in the first place: her undying love for those closest to her, unwavering loyalty, and selflessness that made her Maya Hart. He felt a stab of pain shoot through his heart when he heard her say she didn't care about her happiness, when he knew that she deserved it more than anyone else in the world.

"One of the things I love about you is that you'll go to extreme lengths to protect your friends, but you can't always put everyone else's happiness before your own. It really hurts me that you don't think you deserve to be happy."

"When Riley's happy, I'm happy, you don't understand that."

"You know that's untrue."

 _I want Maya to be happy._

Maya blushed at the memory and his lips quirked up in a small smile. "I don't deserve you. You're a good guy and I'm just the poor girl who's stuck on the wrong side of the tracks. You belong with girls like Riley."

"I don't want to end up with girls like Riley Matthews. They're great but they're not you. I want you to feel like you deserve your own happiness too. I want you to be selfish for once. Forget what's right; forget about everyone else. It's just you and me," he coaxed gently.

"I can't do this to her," she choked out, a couple of tears fell down and he quickly swiped them away with this thumb.

"Did you ever think that Riley loves you just as much as you love her? If your friendship means that much to her, she'll want you to be happy no matter what the circumstance." He knew that he was slowly getting to her, he could tell by the nervous energy humming from her body and the wistful expression on her face. "I'm asking you, what do _you_ want?" Maya squeezed her eyes shut, trying to erase Riley's smiling face from her mind. Lucas leaned down and touched his forehead with hers, "I know it's scary to fling yourself off the cliff but I did it a long time ago. I want you."

Maya was about to choke under the pressure and guilt that weighed on her shoulders, "you don't know how much I want you too," she whispered back.

"Then what's stopping you?"

" _Mom? You've been smiling for two hours straight now, I take it your date went well?"_

 _Katy went up to Maya and took her in her arms, "Oh Maya, you don't know how happy I am right now. I feel like I'm on cloud nine," Katy kissed her daughter on the head._

 _Maya stuck her tongue out but fought a large smile from breaking out, "sounds like you're loony for Shawn," she chuckled._

 _Katy nodded, "I think I'm in love with him." Maya pulled out of her arms and looked at her like she was crazy. She didn't know whether to believe her or not but her mom looked dead serious._

" _How could you say that? You haven't even known him for that long."_

" _I'm sorry I meant to say that I_ am _in love with Shawn." Katy smiled at her unapologetically and brushed a couple of stray curls out of her face._

" _How could you be so sure? You've said that about dad before; he left us and he broke your heart." Katy just shook her head and took Maya's hands._

" _That was a long time ago and I'm okay with it now. Just because someone else broke your heart before, doesn't mean you should be afraid to love again."_

" _What if you guys break up? What if Shawn breaks your heart?"_

" _I love you baby girl and I'm so glad you care about your mom, but I'll get through it if that ever happens. Darling, when a boy ever tells you he loves you and you happen to feel the same way about him, keep him and never let him go, no matter what."_

" _I hate it when you sound so cliché."_

" _Us Harts have been through a lot of heartbreaks, but that shouldn't keep us from getting back up again and giving love a shot. We're supposed to be strong."_

" _But aren't you scared?" Maya asked after a long pause._

" _I'm very scared Maya, but being scared is a good sign," Katy laughed at her daughter's incredulous look. "I know it doesn't make sense, but when it comes to love, being scared means you really care about the other person. Don't let fear stop you from messing up, relationships aren't perfect, but it's all about who you're with. If you trust that person whole-heartedly, you both can work through anything. Fear is only relative, but it says a lot about the person who's in love. Let fear make you run into the arms of those you love, let it make you be more adventurous and be more open to embracing life. Jump off that cliff, Maya, someone will be there to catch you when you do."_

Maya's mouth was dry and for one of the first times in her life she was speechless. So many emotions were flashing through her like light speed but all she think about was the guy clutching her like she meant the whole universe to him. For once, she wasn't someone else's second choice and deep down no matter how guilty she felt, she was happy. She was happy that he wanted her because out of all the girls he could have, he chose her. This guy that shook her world to the core, wanted to be with her. The guy who she's secretly liked since the time she saw him on the subway and broke up with him after their two minute long relationship. She desperately apologized to Riley and asked her for forgiveness.

"Fuck it. Just kiss me," she breathed out.

Their faces were only a couple of inches away from each other and Lucas brought hers impossibly close until they were nose to nose. Maya was the first to get up on her tiptoes and press her lips against his. Lucas was a little surprised she had demanded him to kiss her, but when she had made the first move to kiss him he felt like everything was incredibly surreal. His lips didn't move for a second until his nerve endings felt the soft texture of her pink, bow lips. He kissed her back with all the passion he could muster and grasped a fistful of her honey curls. Their first kiss was gentle and slow, he was taking his time to really kiss her and memorize the taste and feel of her lips. He applied feather-like pressure to her lips with his own and rolled the tip of his tongue over her bottom slowly. Tortuously.

Maya's fingers were lightly scraping his neck until she felt the heat of his tongue glide over her lips. She ran her fingers through his hair when she opened her mouth to caress his tongue with her own. She let out a small moan that made something stir in the bottom of his stomach. Their gentle kiss quickly built into something more passionate, fiery, and desperate. Lucas moved his hands from her face to her waist, to pull her closer until there wasn't a millimeter of space between the warmth of their bodies. Maya was practically crushed into his chest but she loved the pressure, the heat, and the urgent touches, as if it was their last kiss. The lick of flames set her blood on fire, but it wasn't burning her, it was making her feel alive. She realized she wanted to be engorged by the embers, making her feel like she was going to combust at any moment.

She scratched through his silky hair and he groaned at the pleasant feeling. Maya smiled to herself at the sound and almost threw her head back when his hot kisses were slowly trailing down from the corners of her mouth to her jaw, lighting her skin on fire. He loved the feel of his lips pressed against her milky skin, taking pleasure in the fact that she had clutched him tighter when he made his way down her neck. His breathing was making her feel heady, making her forget what her name was. She felt like she was walking on air and was afraid at any given second she was going to crash-land to the ground. Maya's hands fell onto his biceps to try to hold onto reality for dear life.

She flung herself off the cliff and she was glad she jumped.

She was falling fast and hard.

Adrenaline was pumping through her veins and the heat was scorching her insides.

But she loved it.

She felt his muscles flex and her wildest dreams came to fruition. His hand on her waist moved up to her lower back, causing her blouse to lift up, revealing the small of her back. Maya's back felt cold for a moment until he rested his hands underneath the fabric, skin to skin, shivering at his touch. Maya's chest was rising and falling rapidly, her panting filling the empty room. She was waiting for the moment when her mind would finally catch up to her breath. She grasped his jaw and pulled him away from her just to bring his lips back to hers in a last, bruising kiss.

She rested her head in the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent. They just stood there quietly, with her in his arms. He was stroking her hair calmly, but was feeling the after effects of kissing the girl in his embrace; his heart was still pounding in his ears but was racing with excitement.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

He kissed her temple and hugged her to his chest, "Me too."

"Why are you scared?" Maya asked incredulously, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

"Now that I have a shot with the girl of my dreams, I don't want to mess it up." Maya just shook her head but clutched his shirt tighter in her fist.

"You have nothing to worry about Huckleberry. You're such a sap," Lucas chuckled.

"Now it's my turn to ask you, why are you scared?" Maya bit her lip but nuzzled her face into his neck further, shaking her head after a long beat of silence.

"I don't want to lose you or Riley. I know someone's going to get hurt if I choose either one of you over the other."

"Maya, open your eyes." Maya slowly opened her blue eyes and was feeling uneasy again when his light green irises flickered into a deep gold. He smiled reassuringly, "you won't have to choose between us. Everything's going to be ok. I'll be here with you every single step of the way and I'll be there when you need to talk to Riley, if you want me to," he added.

"Of course I want you to be there with me, but how can you be so sure that everything's going to be fine?" He laced his fingers with hers, massaging his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Because I have you and I have faith in Riley." Maya smiled wobbly at him, her eyes suddenly getting moist.

"You're such a Huckleberry," she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him, her eyes tearing up. She tried to hide her sniffling but Lucas could sense something was wrong with her.

He frowned, "Maya are you ok?" she shook her head.

"I'm scared," she repeated.

"Of what?" he asked gently, running his hands on her back in a comforting motion.

"I'm falling for you Lucas and I have no control over what I feel for you. I don't want my heart to be broken again, I don't know if I could take it if I lost you."

"You're not going to lose me, no matter what. I want you to be happy and I'll do everything in my power to make sure you are. You're not the only one who's beyond scared of their fucking mind. It's scary how fast I'm falling for you, but now that I have you I'm not that scared anymore. We're in this together."

Maya pulled away and he wiped away her tears for her. "Do you get all of your sappy material from Hallmark cards?"

"No just from fortune cookies," Maya chuckled and Lucas smiled, relieved that he was able to make her feel better.

She looked down at her feet and sobered up immediately, "what if this thing between us doesn't work out? What if we fight over something awful and break up because of it? I don't want that to happen."

Lucas drew in a breath, "I don't want that either, but if it does happen, then that's something that we'll have to deal with down the line. We'll try our best to make everything work, relationships are a two way street right? I'll do my hardest to make sure none of that happens, I want to be with you until you get sick of my corny country life jokes. If you really want things to work out then it will. But as for now, I really really like you Maya Hart and I hope you like me too."

He leaned down and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. When they reluctantly broke apart for air, Maya smiled shyly, her fears dispelling away. Suddenly, she couldn't think of why she had ever doubted him. "Of course I like you, Bucky McBoingBoing. I don't think I'll ever get tired of your Texas jokes, but that doesn't mean I won't kick your ass if you ever say something cheesy or cliché to me ever again."

Lucas threw his head back and laughed whole-heartedly. Maya smiled widely at the melodious laughter, "Damn, does that mean you didn't like the whole speech I gave about the universe?" She looked up from where they were standing and remembered that they were surrounded by a flurry of stars, making it look like they were kissing under the starry night.

"No I liked that one, it just sounded like something you tore out of Farkle's book," he smiled mischievously at her and winked. Maya caught his gaze that was lingering on her lips, she bit her lip and glanced at his own, realizing his kisses were a drug and she was addicted.

When they leaned in again, Lucas whispered, "Hahurr."

Maya smiled, her eyes fluttered shut and the fire was burning again. The butterflies didn't go away for either one of them, since they were putting in all their focus towards feeling each other's lips against their own.

Just as the kiss turned heavy again, a door swung open and a security guard yelled at them, causing them to jump apart. "What are you kids doing in here alone? You're not supposed to be here until the next showing." Maya turned red and Lucas was still trying to get over the mini panic attack at the sudden interruption. Lucas took her hand in his as they made their way towards the exit of the planetarium. "Teenagers, they'll do anything for a make-out session," the security guard muttered underneath his breath.

Maya flushed again at the remark and looked at Lucas who looked almost as sheepish as she did, except for the slight smirk that danced across his face. After they walked out of the Hayden Planetarium and the Rose Center for Earth and Space, hand in hand, Lucas leaned down and brushed his lips against the shell of her ear, "I don't regret being caught. I'd do it again."

Maya blushed and smacked a hand over her face, "I can't believe you fooled everyone with your goody two shoes façade, Moral Compass my ass."

He chuckled, "I guess you're just rubbing off on me, Maya Penelope Hart." She slapped his arm at the mention of her middle name but she couldn't muster an annoyed look, all she could do was try to stifle a smile.

When she looked away she caught someone staring at her, turning towards the direction of the heavy gaze on her back, she realized that someone was Riley Matthews. Maya panicked and tried to pull her hand out of Lucas' grasp but it was too late, Riley had been staring at their entwined hands the whole time. Riley's brown eyes snapped upwards, her eyes searching Maya's face. Maya wanted to shrink back or run away but all thoughts of guilt and shame disappeared when Riley smiled at her. Riley noticed Maya's flushed face and swollen lips, realizing what had transpired between the two of them.

She had been observing them since they've walked out of the planetarium, not really surprised that they hadn't noticed her since they were both in their own little worlds, not paying mind to anything else but the other. Riley first noticed the hand holding and was surprised to see Lucas lean down and whisper in her ear, her doe eyes catching the blush that was spreading around her neck. She was curious as to what he had said to her that could make Maya Hart blush, but she was even more curious as to what gave Maya the push to go after what she wanted. Riley was proud of Maya for letting go of her inhibitions and chasing her own happiness, she only hoped Lucas realized how lucky he was to be with her best friend.

Maya's electric blue eyes searched through Riley's chocolate ones for a sign of disapproval, anger, or melancholy but there wasn't anything but love. Maya mouthed "thank you" to Riley and smiled. She was liberated, she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Lucas noticed Maya was being quiet longer than usual and wasn't paying attention to anything he was saying. He looked at Maya and was a little bewildered at the serene expression on her face. He followed her gaze towards someone in a crowd but couldn't find who or what she was staring at. Lucas squeezed her hand and called her name, shaking her from her trance. Maya blinked and realized Riley wasn't standing there any longer, mixing herself into the sea of students that were chattering amiably about their field trip.

The doe-eyed brunette was gone and Maya felt like she had just dreamt of the whole thing. "What's wrong Shortstack?"

Maya squeezed his hand and turned to face him, "Nothing's wrong. Everything's absolutely fine, like you said it would be."

"Good," her smile was infectious and he couldn't help but mirror her happiness with his own. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

Maya leaned in towards him, "Kiss me, Huckleberry."

He doubled-back and smirked, "In front of everyone? Are you sure you want people to find out so soon?"

She shook her head, "I don't care, kiss me while you still have the chance Ranger Rick."

He didn't hesitate and leaned down to brush his lips against hers. Maya slowly started to respond to his touch and reciprocated. Somewhere in the background, beyond their own little world, they heard Zay yell, "Finally!"

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 **Whew! That was long wasn't it eh? Imagine what it was like to re-read it and edit it ;) mwahaha in all seriousness though, I really loved writing this piece, it might just be my favorite thing I've ever written before. I'm currently writing two other stories called "Girl Meets Forgiveness and Onward" and "The Child of Love" so if you like this please go check my other stuff out, it means a lot!**

 **Did you guys catch all the references to past episodes? How about the soft Riarkle? Did you like all the astronomy stuff?**

 **I'd love to hear what you guys think! Review review review and review, doesn't matter if it's positive or constructive criticism I'd like to know how I did with this monster shot. Until next time, arrivederci!**

 **-Nina**


	2. Kissing Booth

**A/N: Hey guys so I don't know what possessed me and let me post this drabble, since it's been literal centuries since I've posted something. I'm sorry for being absent but there's just no time for me to write anymore. However, I have a lot of Lucaya drabbles/oneshots that I've written before and have posted on Tumblr. I realized that even though I post my oneshots on tumblr I forgot that I haven't posted them here.**

 **So I know this story used to be a oneshot, and it still is, I just don't want to make a completely new story to post my drabbles so I'm using this story from now on. It'll still be called _The Space Between Stars_ it's just extra Lucaya for you fans out there.**

 **Also I'm posting this because I've noticed the GMW fandom is so dead and so is Lucaya right now and that makes me really sad :( so I hope this makes up for it.**

* * *

 **Title: Kissing Booth  
**

 **Pairings: Lucas Friar and Maya Hart**

 **Rating: T (most drabbles are going to be rated T)**

* * *

Lucas always prided himself on keeping a handle on his jealousy, but lately his hold's been tested lately by a particular blonde spitfire.

The tension between the two's been building up ever since middle school but it's been especially getting worse in their junior year of high school. They've been jumping back and forth between relationships so many times that they've just gotten used to putting their feelings on hold when the other is in a relationship while the other isn't. It's been driving all of their friends crazy from their horrible timing. Frankly, what was even more frustrating to Lucas was that secretly, he had never paused his feelings for Maya when it seemed like she had all but forgotten their connection.

But with a stroke a luck, Maya and Lucas were both simultaneously single. Unattached, uncommitted, and free for some time now. However, they both haven't addressed the elephant in the room and Lucas was still trying to figure out how to get the balls to ask her out. The only thing was, the longer he waited, the more time he wasted before Maya would be swept under her feet by another tall, dark and mysterious guy.

Lucas wasn't thick. He knew that a lot of guys were attracted to Maya Hart because she was insanely gorgeous but that didn't stop him from seeing red every time a guy ogled her. He said he was just being protective because he didn't want anyone to take advantage of her but it was mainly due to the fact that she was his to protect and keep. If Lucas got jealous whenever the opposite sex even looked in her way, imagine how he would react when there was a long line of guys waiting to have the chance to kiss the blonde beauty.

His blonde beauty, Maya Hart.

And what was worse was that he couldn't do anything about it.

He couldn't threaten any bodily harm or tell them to get the hell away in a really intimidating voice because all of this was for a school fundraiser.

Yes, they were paying to kiss her.

And yes, it pissed him to no end.

Especially since Lucas Friar had waited five years to kiss her. If he'd known all he had to do was pay her, he would've given all of his money to her, but even that thought was wrong. He wanted to have their first kiss to be passionate and raw as it should be.

But that idea of waiting, for god knows how much longer, was his own folly. Lucas couldn't look away when a guy stepped up and played his boyish charm on her. He wanted to punch that stupid grin off of his face whenever he waggled his eyebrows suggestively or winked at her. He watched the whole thing while his anger ticked away with every second. He knew Maya was mature enough to handle the guy on her own but when she didn't turn him away and smiled playfully, all thoughts of acting indifferent were put on hold.

Before he could lean in and kiss her, Lucas shot up from behind him, grabbed the collar of his shirt and tugged him away. Maya's eyes were still closed expectantly until she heard a grunt and a thud from the ground. She opened her eyes and was alarmed to see Lucas' golden features angrily stare at the boy lying in a heap on the ground.

"What the hell Lucas? What did you do?" She asked irritably.

"Hey I paid ten dollars to kiss this hot blonde!" The guy on the ground gruffed angrily.

Lucas towered over him with a dark gleam in his eyes. "I don't care, you need to get the hell out of here before I dangle you off the ferris wheel," he growled.

The boy just returned the glare and got back up on his feet slowly, flicking Lucas off and walking away while the cowboy bristled tensely in his spot.

"What the fu-?" Maya started.

"In fact all of you guys can go home now. This booth is officially shut down and closed for the night." Lucas interrupted her and turned around to address the long line of guys. All of the guys groaned and sulked off, mumbling curses under their breath whilst shooting annoyed glares at Lucas. He didn't care at the least that he was on everyone's death list, he was just happy that nobody would be kissing Maya.

"If you're pissed that you couldn't plant one on someone then go home and kiss your mom for free," he added. When he turned around to face her he knew she was going to mad, but she was absolutely livid with steam coming out of her ears.

"You can't just go storming around shutting school fundraisers down because you feel like it!" Maya huffed. Her blue eyes were steely and lit with fiery anger, a tell tale sign that she was beyond pissed at him. "We still have a couple of hours left to raise money for the arts program and now we barely have reached our goal. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? How can you go around kissing horny, idiot strangers for money?"

"You can't scold me, _mom._ I wanted to do this out of my own volition because I'm the only one who cares about the art program in this whole freakin' school! And in fact, if I remember correctly, someone once told me to do everything I can in my power to fight for the things I care about," she glared pointedly at him.

"I know what I said, but I didn't suggest that this was the way to go about it. The point was to help fundraise, not let strangers shove their tongues down your throat."

She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I was not making out with them. It's literally a peck on the lips, I've had much more intense makeout sessions with my past exes." Lucas' ire increased at that unpleasant reminder.

"Yeah no need to remind me of your steamy pursuits by the art lockers," he growled.

Maya's eyebrow rose at the slightly jealous tone. "Careful, Lucas, you're starting to sound like a really jealous boyfriend." Lucas tensed up at the assumption but ignored it no matter how much that comment bothered him.

"Don't change the subject, Maya."

"No I'm not changing the subject, you are Ranger Rick," she countered smoothly. "If you're jealous of a couple of strangers than you could've let me know beforehand so there wouldn't be a scene."

"That's a load of bull, Maya. You never even told me you were running a kissing booth!"

"And you told me you weren't going to come to the fair because you were busy," she looked at him as if she had just trapped him into a corner.

Lucas blanched. "Yeah well plans have a tendency to change."

"Now _that's_ a load of bull, Sundance. Riley probably told you about this and then you decided to come down to shut down the whole rodeo yourself. Well guess what? You did it! Congrats, Huckleberry you officially managed to run this fundraiser into the ground," she snarled.

"Maya-" he said guiltily.

"All because you can't keep a handle on your petty jealousy," she added viciously.

"Can you blame me?" He asked rhetorically. His anger resurfaced because he was frustrated that she was completely missing the point.

"I had to stand there and watch the girl I've been crushing on since middle school, kiss a dozen of strangers when it should've been me who's supposed to be kissing you."

Maya did a mini double-take at his words, surprised by his confession and the heat in his gaze that made her spine tingle with electricity. Lucas knew he was vulnerable at the moment for admitting his feelings for her in the midst of a heated argument, but he couldn't help but feel like he didn't have any more fucks left to give.

"Yeah I've been crushing on you since we've met and I still had feelings for you during all of my relationships. Don't act surprised. I hated all your past boyfriends because they were dicks and treated you like shit when you clearly deserve better."

"Then why didn't you tell me when you had the chance?" She asked mutely.

"You were too busy jumping from one relationship to another."

"Oh is that what you think?" Maya clicked her tongue at his accusation.

" Well for your information, I was only doing that because you were in a relationship too and it seemed like you were too busy getting yourself _acquainted_ with all the girls at our school," she narrowed her eyes.

"I only did that so I could bury my feelings for you because someone couldn't pick up on all the hints I've been dropping around them for the last couple of years," he returned the annoyed gaze during their standoff. It was like some sick twisted competition between them, both waiting for the other to relinquish their grip; the tension intensifying at light speed.

Maya didn't have any more excuses to respond with because her chaotic thoughts were brimming at the top, threatening to spill. Their gazes never separated from each other whilst their eyes were having a silent conversation. Her blue eyes held anger but masked behind it was joy, mirth, and adoration as she let his confession sink in. She didn't even remember what they were arguing about in the first place, all she knew was that she didn't want to continue their long, tortuous dance.

She wanted to kiss him and so did he.

Lucas' eyes were glued on her pink, full, bowed lips when she spoke.

"I can't believe I like your jealous ass when all you do is piss me off."

"I can't believe that I like you after all the times you've explicitly called me names, ignored me, and flaunt your relationships in my face."

"You're such an-" Maya's words were muffled when Lucas grabbed a fistful of her honey curls and smashed his lips against hers in a bruising kiss.

She immediately reciprocated and tugged him to her as close as she could by the collar of his shirt. She moaned when he slipped his tongue into her mouth to massage hers slowly and deepened the kiss. Her lips were smooth against his slightly chapped ones that created this friction that they both loved. Their first kiss was passionate and urgent from all those years of waiting and fantasizing.

When they finally broke apart for much needed air, Lucas reached into his pocket and placed a ten dollar bill on the table in front of her.

"I believe I owe you ten dollars for that kiss. Thank you for your service, Ma'am." Lucas tipped an imaginary hat at her and winked.

Maya cracked a grin and chuckled, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Cough it up, Huckleberry, that wasn't enough." She waved a hand in front of him, motioning for him to spit out more money.

Lucas shook his head in bemusement, "I guess I owe you ten more for making you shut this booth down early." Lucas took out his wallet and fished out a twenty.

"There's an extra ten dollars," she said matter-of-factly.

"I know, the remaining amount will go towards my second kiss." Lucas waggled his eyebrows and Maya busted out laughing. She swung both her arms around his neck and pulled his face close to hers, smiling into his bemused expression.

"Aw Ranger Rick, I was gonna give you a second kiss for free but since you've already given it to me; no take-backs."

"That's ok, I'm willing to donate to the Maya Hart foundation whenever I can."

"Well if you get behind this booth, I'll be happy to give you VIP access," she nudged her head coyly.

"Wow Shortstack this is moving way too fast," he teased while he walked over to her side of the booth and placed both of his hands on the small of her back to pull her close to him so there wasn't any visible space left. Maya sighed contently when he leaned down and rested his forehead on hers affectionately.

"I'm fine with that, after all, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

* * *

 **a/n: let me know what you guys think of this drabble. It's just some quick fluff, nothing too heavy like the last oneshot. Also let me know if you guys are okay with me using this to post my oneshots.**

 **If I'm generous enough or in the mood for it, I'll take some Lucaya/riarkle prompt requests**

 **Ok thanks guys, love you, thanks for still reading my stories and bugging me to come back**


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